Polish death metallers Behemoth, which were one of the main attractions of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, have been forced to cancel their upcoming appearance in North America due to their drummer Inferno taking ill and requiring an appendix surgery.

The band's frontman Nergal comments: "This must have been the most difficult decision we were forced to make in recent years. Behemoth is known for not canceling any shows or tours. But this is not something we can do when we are missing our driving force, the man behind the drums - Inferno. Unfortunately, he was hospitalized due to appendix surgery and it's gonna take him few months to fully recover and get back to shape. We are trying to save selected European Festivals with a fill in drummer (Krimh,ex-Decapitated), but we won't be risking doing a full-on prestigious tour like the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival without Inferno. Behemoth is a solid unit and any part of this unit missing makes us weaker, and that is not how we want to present our new material to our fans. Please, accept our apologies and be patient, we shall return to Europe (this fall) and US (early 2014) empowered and motivated as never before!"

Sucks that the're off the tour, but respectable they're such a cohesive unit that they'd rather not get a rent-a-drummer. I'd rather wait to see a good band in full form that to see them with temporary musicians. Perhaps this will lead to a headlining tour at some point?